I hunt for you with bloodied feet
by Odainath
Summary: pre-series; "I would do anything for you, River." / "I know."  doctor/river
1. part i

** I hunt for you with bloodied feet**  
pre-series; doctor, river, doctor/river (dr who)  
_"I would do anything for you." / "I know."_

* * *

Their first encounter is one he'd rather forget. Not because he regrets meeting River (nothing could be further from the truth) but because of the way his stomach twists and bile rises in his throat as he remembers her broken body in the middle of the street, the scarlet blood pooling around her head a mocking tribute to an angel's halo. He remembers the Leviathans as they circled ever closer, forked tongues flickering in and out, mad with blood lust.

(Less clearly, he remembers the roar of anger that burst from his throat, how he had rushed forward, heedless of his own safety and dragged her unmoving body into the tardis.)

-o-

She is bed-ridden for several days (or perhaps weeks – River is the only person able to destabilise his complex relationship with time) and he does not leave her bedside, ignoring Amy and Rory as they whisper of an 'unhealthy obsession' that he doesn't bother to deny. River lies, unmoving, the arc of her body an ivory blade, her soft screams piercing his hearts.

He leans forward and brushes a strand of River's hair, matted with dry blood, away from her forehead. She stirs and opens her eyes and he freezes, unsure whether or not to pull away. River reaches out but her body is weak and her hand falls back onto the mattress; long, slim fingers curling into a loose fist as her eyes close.

The doctor exhales a breath he hadn't realised he'd been holding.

-o-

Amy and Rory find it difficult to reconcile this River with the one they have already met. Their River's laughter can light up a room. This River's laughter can burn out candles, drop a room's temperature.

Still, they make an effort.

Then Rory comes one step too close and is rewarded with River's nails raking along his cheek, leaving deep scratches in their wake. Amy understands (she always was a bright girl) but she still asks the doctor to return them to their own time-stream, away from this incarnation of a woman she thought she knew.

River merely shrugs when they walk out the tardis door.

-o-

River hides her emotions well, and it is only because of a ringing warning from the tardis that he realises her intentions.

"She told you, didn't she?" River says from where she leans against the console, arms folded.

The doctor raises an eyebrow; his eyes narrowing as they fall on this woman (or girl – she can't be more than 17) who has become the most important person in his life. Moreso than any other companion.

"About your murderous intentions?" he says drily, pushing a red button that sounds a loud 'trill' through the air, startling him.

River, on the other hand, doesn't flinch.

"Yes," she says plainly, eyes locked with his.

"It won't change a thing."

She smiles; it sends chills down his spine.

"But it will make me feel better."

-o-

She's been with him three months without leaving the confines of the tardis. At first, he thinks it is because the tardis is somewhere new, somewhere to explore. It's only when he finds her in the oxygen factory, curled in a ball and shivering, that he realises it is fear that prevents her from stepping out of the blue door.

_"River-"_  
_"Just leave me for a moment."_

It's the first request that he denies.

He sits down (giving her space – he hasn't forgotten her reaction to Rory) and after what seems like an age (perhaps it is) she shifts closer, enough that their shoulders brush. Carefully, mindful of his every moment, he wraps one arm around her and stiffens slightly when she leans into him and rests her cheek against his chest.

She begins to shake and tears she should have shed long ago finally begin to fall, soaking through his shirt.

He kisses the top of her hair.

She cries harder.

-o-

Her tears prove a catalyst and he finds himself typing co-ordinates to send him back to the Leviathans. River is asleep when he leaves (though he makes sure to lock the door behind him – he does not want her seeing this.) In his pocket is a chain, one he made specifically for the act of murder he is about to commit.

Long, thin, silver with a curse written in Old High Gallifrean enscribed on its every link.

It goes against his principles, his assertion that all life-forms matter, but then he remembers River's tears.

He doesn't so much as blink when he throws the chain around the Leviathan queen, condemning her and her off-spring to certain death.

If he were honest with himself, he rather enjoys it.

-o-

River wakes when he enters her room and he watches her green eyes change shade as she realises what he has done. Slowly, she rises to her feet and crosses the room. She is a good half-foot shorter than him in this particular incarnation and has to stretch onto tips of her toes when she reaches out to cup his cheek.

"Thank you," she whispers, her thumb moving in small circles.

It is then he realises she is wiping away blood.

"I would do anything for you, River."

She nods as she pulls him close and lets him rest his forehead against her shoulder.

"I know."

* * *

**Author's notes:** the title is taken from 'Howl' by Florence and the Machine.  
Please review,

_Odainath_


	2. part ii

I hunt for you with bloodied feet  
pre-series; doctor, river, doctor/river (dr who)

_"I would do anything for you." / "I know."_  
_

* * *

_

_"I would do anything for you, River."  
"I know."_

-o-

River heals, but there are days she retreats into one of the tardis' many rooms and stays for hours. The doctor follows her once, and hides behind one of the bookshelves. He watches as she curls into a chair, a book on her lap, but she doesn't read. Instead, she merely sits, unmoving, her eyes fixed on a point ahead though her eyes glaze and he knows she has taken herself somewhere else.

The tardis lurches and River leaps to her feet, instantly alert, her body poised for defense.

Finding no danger, she sits back down and the doctor leans against the shelves, wondering what had happened before he had found her on the street.

Much of him doesn't want to know the answer.

-o-

She has a ruthless streak (of that he had never been in any doubt) but it comes into sharp relief when he takes her to New New York and she shoots a Adramaleck at point blank range.

He doesn't reprimand her (he knows that would be a futile effort) though he does pose the question 'why?'

Her answer is simple.

"I didn't like how he looked at me."

He nods, then sees the Adramaleck's mate, hidden in the shadows, ready to pounce.

He doesn't think as he takes the gun she has strapped to her thigh and points it at the creature. The thrill that runs through his veins when it falls to the ground, bleeding onto the pavement, is unexpected, though one he would like to feel again.

It is the beginning of a downward spiral.

"It feels good, doesn't it?"

He flinches at River's voice, soft and seductive in his ear, but doesn't pull away.

"It's all right," she continues, her breath hot and quick against his skin, "there is nothing to be ashamed of."

She places her hand flat against his chest and any guilt he might have felt disappears in an instant.

-o-

It is she who makes the first move, almost a full year after he had found her in the street. She appears in his bedroom, clad only in a bathrobe and he sits upright, suddenly afraid. River keeps moving forward, a smile tugging at the corner of her lips, until she stands before him.

"River-" he begins, getting quickly to his feet. "Please-"

She silences him without words and her fingers twist themselves in the tale of his shirt as she moves nearer to him. The doctor opens his mouth, to protest, but words die in his throat. She's pleading with him, but her lips aren't moving and he's exhausted his resolve so his mouth crashes against her own. Cliches such as 'fireworks' and 'explosions' come to mind, but pale in comparison to this, whatever _this _was. River's unbuttoning his shirt, sliding it over his shoulders, and he shivers when the cool air comes in contact with warm skin. He breaks their kiss, dropping his lips to her neck, and she arches away as he unties the sash of the bathrobe, white silk falling in a puddle on the ground.

"Please," she whispers, her breath hot and quick against his skin.

He says nothing, instead reaching around and resting his hands on her hips.

-o-

He takes her to Canaan, a place which exudes serenity and peace, and isn't entirely surprised when she appears bored, her eyes lingering only briefly on the breath-taking scenery.

"Not enough for you?" he asks, only half-joking.

She shakes her head as he pulls her close, her hair tickling his chin.

"Not nearly enough."

-o-

Peklo proves to be more to her taste and the doctor watches, enthralled, as she hides behind a wall, counting her every breath before she leaps out and to the ground, rolling some six feet until she is behind a Chimera and able to fasten a collar around its neck.

"They don't make good pets," he says drily, folding his arms across his chest.

"No," she agrees, hoisting the Chimera upright, "but they fetch a fortune on the black market."

He can't help but grin.

-o-

They continue like this, her taking what she wants, him standing guard, and one night as he leans against one elbow, simply watching her sleep, he wonders how long this can go on.

"Do you ever stop thinking?" she mutters, threading her fingers through his.

"I'm sorry?"

She tightens her grip, fingernails digging into his skin, and he lets out a hiss of pain. Scowling, he pulls her backward until her back rests flush against his chest and wraps his arms around her, hard.

In one sharp movement he finds himself on his back, River's hand tight around his throat.

Pleasure on the brink of pain.

And he loves it.


	3. part iii

_If you could only see the beast you've made of me._  
_I held it in but now it seems you're running free._

_- 'Howl' by Florence + the Machine_

* * *

River leans back languidly, eyes closed, her legs loosely crossed, one blood-red shoe falling to the ground.

The same shade of lipstick she leaves on his collar.

The doctor watches as she arches her spine, her neck an elegant line, and exhales a long breath.

"I feel I'm missing something," she says, not bothering to open her eyes.

"Oh?" he asks, crossing the tardis to stand before her, his palms flat against her thighs. "And what would that be?"

She reaches out, and draws him close to whisper in his ear. "You decide."

His hands pull at her dress and he growls from the back of his throat when he finds the material unyielding. River laughs as she kicks off her other shoe and stands. She undoes the dress in one deft twist of her fingers, silk pooling at her feet.

He presses her hard against the console.

Her fingernails dig into his back.

-o-

He leaves that night, locking the tardis door behind him (he still does not trust her not to follow him) in search of the _priori_diamond; the largest in the universe. Blood-red to match her dress, he thinks as he wanders the halls of the _Vierarchi_searching for his elusive gift. The guards prove a nuisance but he passes them quickly enough and places the diamond safe in his pocket. Pleased, he goes back to the tardis, only to find the door ajar, light spilling onto the ground.

River leaves a note.

_I am not an animal to be caged and left behind._

-o-

He searches, of course he does, but River proves a fleeting target, always one step ahead, skipping across the universe as if it were a playground. Stories evolve, of a beautiful and deadly woman, able to evade capture as she raided private stores, museums, anywhere where wealthy items resided.

Each time he returns to the tardis, alone, she sings a song of lamentation and he realises that she too is under River's spell.

He widens his search but River dances away, out-of-reach.

-o-

Of her own volition, the tardis takes him to Amy's house, and the doctor walks up the garden path. The door opens before he has a chance to knock and he attempts a smile he knows doesn't reach his eyes.

Amy's expression falters and she reaches out though doesn't touch him, as if she's afraid he will burn.

"What has she done to you?" Amy breathes, looking as if she might cry.

The doctor is of no doubt who '_she_' is.'

-o-

He doesn't stay with Amy for more than an hour, guilt flaring in his chest when he sees the three long scars which mar Rory's cheek.

Guilt that he thinks _Rory shouldn't have got so damn close_.

-o-

Another month passes, another threat neutralised (he doesn't dwell on the thought that thousands more might have survived if he'd arrived earlier but he'd been busy, chasing a fresh trail of River's) and he walks back to the tardis, scuffing his feet against the ground, watching the small dust clouds that formed.

"Really, doctor, is that necessary?"

He jerks his head up at _that_ voice, that familiar superior voice he loves and loathes in equal measure.

"You left," he accuses.

River tilts her head a fraction to the left.

"It hurts, doesn't it?"

He glares but River doesn't bat an eyelid and she approaches slowly, soon close enough to tuck a stray piece of hair behind his ear.

"But I think you've suffered enough."

She spins on her heel, facing the tardis, and the doctor frowns when the doors all-but-fly open, allowing her admittance.

River doesn't look behind to see if he follows.

-o-

That night he presses the _priori_ diamond into her hand.

From then on, she wears it on a chain around her neck.


	4. part iv

**I hunt for you with bloodied feet: part IV**

****

**

* * *

**

_Now there's no holding back, I'm here to attack  
__My blood is singing with your voice._

**_

* * *

_**

River is bold, brash, but there are nights when she curls into herself, shies away from his touch.

He never pushes her to tell him what is wrong, knows it would be a futile effort, but bile rises in his throat as he watches River, _his_ River, looking so weak.

Then she rolls onto her side and fixes him with cold, green eyes and he wonders if it is his imagination.

(His imagination is an unfortunate reality.)

-o-

She is quiet, disturbingly so, and a feeling of trepidation runs through his veins as she bids him a soft 'excuse me' and hurries away. He follows – the tardis giving him silent directions – and finds her in the library, sitting in an armchair. She is in one of _those_ moods, he realises with a sinking feeling in his chest. They'd become infrequent - indeed he had hoped they had ceased altogether.

"She's worried," River states plainly, raising a delicate eyebrow.

"So am I," the doctor says, crossing the room and crouching down before her, hands on her knees.

"You really killed them?" she asks.

By '_them_' she means the Leviathans, and the doctor nods.

"I cursed the planet and killed their queen. They can no longer reproduce..."

River reaches out, clasps his hands.

_(He has rarely been happier when she never visits the library again.)_

-o-

She is an enigma, wrapped in a paradox, combined with a contradiction. The doctor watches as she weaves her way through the room, almost spinning on her toes, one hand reaching for the security swipe the host has in his trouser pocket. A second later she flashes him a broad grin and works her way back, raising herself onto her toes to whisper into his ear.

"I've got it."

_('Gotcha' would be just as appropriate, he realises. She has ensnared him in her web and he wonders if he'll ever break free.)_

She tugs at his sleeve and pulls him toward the hall. Heels click against the polished ground, the sound deafening to his ears, but no one seems to notice and they wander through the ship undetected. A whir of his sonic screwdriver and a swipe of the card later they step into the vault and River's eyes widen and her lips curve into a smile.

"Is that-?" she begins.

"It's a _'quintessence,"_ he confirms, suddenly afraid of the power she will – quite literally - hold in her hands.

(She doesn't know that he keeps some things from her – those he views as 'extremely dangerous.' The _quintessence_, the beginning of immortality, is one such object.)

"Oh_,"_ she breathes, stepping forward and holding the woven beads in her hands. _"Oh."_

He watches as she places the _quintessence _in her bag and straightens her shoulders.

"Let's go."

He can hear clattering footsteps, those of heavy boots, and grabs her hand.

_You and me; time and space. You watch us run._

-o-

The quintessence flows through River's fingers, the delicate threads shining bright.

"What does this do?" she asks, holding it upward, light glinting in every direction.

"I don't-"

"Please don't lie to me, doctor," she interrupts. "It doesn't suit you."

_That_ smile, _those_ eyes, and he barely notices the secrets of the universe spilling from his lips.

–

She wears only a bath robe as he stands behind her, letting her hair slide through his fingers. He reaches for the 'quintessence' and breathes deeply. Slowly, he threads the golden strings through River's hair, twisting and weaving it so it flowed through her hair, hidden from casual sight. As he works, the red spheres glow scarlet and a shiver run down River's spine.

"Is something wrong?" he asks, pressing his lips to her temple.

She says nothing as she turns her head, admiring his handiwork from different angles.

"On the contrary."

_I lied, I'm always lying._

-o-

She lies face-down on her (their) bed, a white sheet draped across her body though her back remains exposed, and he trails his fingers across her skin, resting between her shoulder blades.

"What is so fascinating?" she says, shifting to rest on her forearms.

The doctor shrugs as he lies his hand flat against alabaster skin, caught in the moment, in _her_, that he barely hears her next words.

"Were there any before me?"

He freezes.

"There's been no one quite like you, River," he answers after what seems like millennia.

"That's a 'yes', then?"

He pushes aside her hair, careful of the quintessence, and presses his lips to her neck.

"But no one like you."

She rolls suddenly and he looks down at her exposed body, the _priori_ diamond glinting in the light.

"Good," she whispers, pulling him down.

He says nothing, choosing instead to rest his hand at her waist.

The '_quintessence_' burns.

* * *

**notes:** the 'quintessence' was an idea I came up a while ago for my Harry Potter fiction. I've modified it somewhat and the basic gist is that it absorbs the life-force of the person who wears it, enough so that given time they achieve immortality. And yes, this is officially AU.


End file.
